That’s a question that I’m asked on a regular basis by clients, suppliers and friends south of the border.

Sadly, it’s getting harder and harder to justify our top league being any better than League One.

With the exception of Celtic I’m not even sure we would have too many clubs capable of holding their own in it.

That might not be too nice to read but I believe it is an accurate assessment of our game, especially in a week when Ryan Fraser left Aberdeen for League One side Bournemouth.

I’ll put it another way.

Having watched LEAGUE TWO Bradford City in the Capital One Cup this season, would you fancy any club other than Celtic to beat them?

Then again, why should we expect to be any better than League One when many of the players in our top flight have come from that level?

Our top goalscorers have all come to Scottish football from clubs in the lower reaches of English football.

Caley Thistle’s Billy Mckay arrived from Northampton, who are actually in League Two, Michael Higdon was previously at Crewe Alexandra and Gary Hooper joined Celtic from Scunthorpe.

Throw in solid pros like St Mirren captain Jim Goodwin who played for Oldham Athletic and Stockport; Dundee United’s skipper John Daly who has Grimsby Town and Bury as former clubs; and ex-Doncaster and Bristol Rovers striker Paul Heffernan at Kilmarnock and you can suddenly see where our game is at.

And, that’s just on the park. I’ve not even mentioned money, stadiums, training facilities, attendances and sponsorship deals.

Looking at some of the clubs in the bottom two tiers of England’s league set-up and you realise the pedigree of their lower echelons.

Most have dropped out of the Championship in recent years while some were even in the Premiership.

Sheffield United, Coventry City, Preston North End, Notts County, Swindon Town, Bristol Rovers and Bradford are just some of the clubs with a great history who now find themselves struggling to get back up the divisions.

However, I’m not suggesting that the guys at that level don’t possess quality.

What I am saying is that it is relative.

After all, only the best English players will play every week at the top end of the Premiership given the amount of foreigners signed by the clubs involved.

Guys who would have been top-league players all day long 20 years ago now find themselves pushed down the pecking order and have to settle at the bottom end of the EPL or perhaps even the Championship.

Similarly, the next group of guys are demoted to League One and League Two because the opportunities at the higher levels are few and far between.

The domino effect of that is felt throughout the country and the repercussions are wide spread.

For Scottish football it now means that clubs looking at our players are generally from the Championship or Leagues One and Two.

There will occasionally be guys who will attract interest from the Premier — Hooper and Victor Wanyama are the latest two — but most will be in the same boat as Jamie Murphy, Liam Kelly and Michael Nelson who were on the radar of clubs below the top flight.

That situation was further emphasised when Bournemouth snapped up Fraser from the Dons for £350,000.

The reaction to that transfer also proves that there are people in Scotland deluding themselves about our game.

I heard some guys talking about Fraser’s choice of club as if he’d signed for Auchtermuchty Stanklifters.

This is a club who could afford to spend £350k. Which clubs in the SPL could do that?

No, there’s not many and although money is not always a true reflection — it is a fair barometer.

So, the next time I’m asked to compare the SPL to English football I’ll need to be very creative to suggest anything other than Leagues One and Two.